News Release # 3 - Hurricane Michael

The Town of James Island participated in a Tri-County Conference call at 12:00 noon with Charleston County and has moved to OPCON 3 at 12:00 noon. The Town will be closed for normal business operations on Thursday, October 11th but will reopen on Friday morning at 9 am. All Town meetings scheduled for Thursday, October 11th including the Planning Commission meeting will be rescheduled at a later date. Charleston County School District is closed on Thursday, October 11th.

The current forecast issued by the National Hurricane Center calls for Hurricane Michael to make landfall as a major category 4 hurricane along the Florida panhandle today, then moving to the northeast through the midlands of South Carolina.

Potential hazardous impacts provided by the National Weather Service for the Charleston area includes tropical force winds with gusts from 35 to 45 mph, 1-2 inches of rainfall, and the heightened possibility of isolated tornadoes and power outages.

Based on current forecasts there may be heavy rain and/or high wind impacts that has the potential to disrupt utility service. We encourage you to access the SCE&G website at www.sceg.com as well as their social media channels for outage reports and restoration process and other important updates during this or any other emergency event.

SCE&G Customer Service: 1-800-251-7234

Downed/Sparking Lines: 1-888-333-4465

Gas Leaks: 1-800-815-0083

Power Outage: 1-888-333-4465

*Sign up ahead of the storm for mobile outage reporting at https://www.sceg.com/outages-emergencies/power-outages/text-message-reporting

Also beneficial for tracking outages and restoration:

SCE&G Outage Map: https://www.sceg.com/outages-emergencies/power-outages/outage-map
Social Media: Twitter – @SCEGNEWS / Facebook – www.facebook.com/scegnews

** Please do not use social media channels to report outages or share personal information**

Shelter:

A Charleston County shelter facility at 3765 Leeds Avenue will be open at noon today. The facility will be open to both pets and residents. Please bring the following items if you relocate to the shelter:

Bedding
Clothing
Medications
Your child's stuffed animal
Blanket
Emergency kit
Pet food and any medications

Modified Transportation Plan:

Service will begin today at noon – 7:00 p.m. tonight. It will operate tomorrow from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ONLY IF weather and wind conditions allow it.
Citizens needing transport to the shelter should go to the nearest CARTA bus stop. If they are in an unincorporated area with no CARTA stops, go to the nearest Blue Hurricane pick up sign.
Once at the stop, citizens should call 843-202-7904 to request pick up. If they have no phone and are at a CARTA stop, tell the next CARTA bus driver that stops at the stop that they need to go to the shelter. The bus driver will then radio CARTA, who will let Transportation know to send a bus.
When calling 843-202-7904, citizens needing a ride should tell them the number from the CARTA/hurricane sign or the location of the stop to help ensure a prompt pickup.
A CARTA Tel-A-Ride bus will then transport citizens to the shelter at 3765 Leeds Avenue in North Charleston.

The Charleston County Citizen's Information line will be active from noon – 8:00 p.m. today and from 8 am to 5 pm on Thursday, October 11th.

Citizen's Information Line:

(843) 746 – 3900
Spanish (843) 746 - 3909
TTY (843) 746 – 3911

High Wind Bridge Procedure: https://www.charlestoncounty.org/departments/emergency-management/files/BridgeProceduresHighWinds.pdf

The Town of James Island will continue to monitor the storm and provide updates as it becomes available on the Town's website at: www.jamesislandsc.us